United States-Ghana Match Sets ESPN Viewing Record

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The match between the United States and Ghana on June 16 set an ESPN viewership record with more than 11 million people tuning in to it.

The match between the United States and Ghana son June 16 et an ESPN viewing record.

An ESPN update on June 17 indicates 11 million people tuned in to the game:

"The United States' 2-1 victory over Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Monday had a 6.3 household U.S. rating with more than 11 million viewers and was the most-viewed men's football match ever on ESPN.

"The match also had a 469,000 average minute audience on WatchESPN, which set a product record for an event with a total of 1,400,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.

"The U.S.-Ghana match was ESPN's highest-rated and most-viewed telecast since Jan. 6 when its BCS national championship coverage averaged a 14.4 U.S. household rating and 25,572,000 viewers -- the third-largest audience in cable history.

"Washington, D.C. led all markets for ESPN's U.S.-Ghana telecast with an 11.8 rating, followed by New York (10.2), Hartford-New Haven (10.1) and Boston (10.0) at a 10.0 rating or higher."

In a related development, American forward Clint Dempsey, who scored just 29 seconds into the match versus Ghana, has a chance to surpass Landon Donovan as the greatest U.S. soccer player in history, per ESPN FC:

"It took Clint Dempsey 30 seconds to cement his legacy as the greatest player in U.S. World Cup history.

"That's the indisputable fact following his gutsy performance during Monday's epic late win against Ghana, in which his crucial early goal set the stage for John Brooks' 86th-minute winner and made Dempsey the first American (and one of just 23 players all time) to score in three World Cups.

"Why stop there, though? By the time this tournament is over, there's a chance the 31-year-old Dempsey will have surpassed Landon Donovan as the greatest U.S. player of all time.

"That's a bold statement, to be sure. But consider the following:

"Dempsey has three goals in eight World Cup games, compared to Donovan's five in 12. One of Donovan's tallies came from the penalty spot, though -- converted after a foul Dempsey drew against Ghana in the second round four years ago in South Africa.

"And as much as Donovan, the longtime face of the national team, has been a clutch performer for the U.S. at the planet's biggest sporting event -- who can forget his last-gasp goal against Algeria four years ago, or his equally important strike versus Slovenia one game earlier -- it's impossible to look at his entire body of work without noting that he went AWOL for an entire tournament in 2006.

"Dempsey, meanwhile, always seems to save his very best for the sport's grandest stage. He started out as a sub at Germany 2006 before emerging as the U.S. team's breakout player. He used performances against Italy and Ghana as a springboard to the Premier League, where he became the circuit's most accomplished American scorer before being lured back to MLS last year.

"And it has been the same story in World Cup qualifying matches, where Dempsey's numbers (13 goals in 34 games) are better than Donovan's (13 in 40), despite the fact that Donovan served as the team's designated penalty kicker through most of his international career.

"Let's be clear here: This is not a slight on Donovan, a truly magnificient player in his own right whose accomplishment and yes, his toughness, still don't get the respect they deserve from many at home or abroad.

"There's every chance that Donovan, controversially left off the U.S. roster by coach Jurgen Klinsmann last month, still will be sorely missed in Brazil."